Conestoga senior defender Mike Bronzino has committed to play next year at Cornell University.

Bronzino, an All-Eastern Pennsylvania Scholastic Lacrosse Association pick last year, said the combination of the academics and lacrosse at Cornell was unbeatable.

“Looking at the different schools, Cornell stood out,” he said. “I’ll get such a great education; it has such a good academic reputation. They also have a great lacrosse program.”

Bronzino plans to study business or biological science, but is keeping his options open.

“It has a beautiful campus,” he said of the Ithaca location. “Ithaca (College) is right across town. It’s big enough, but it’s not too large and I won’t get lost in the shuffle. It’s kind of a perfect size.”

Bronzino is known for his aggressive style. During the fall, he helped quarterback Conestoga to the District 1 playoffs. He never considered playing college football, but he believes playing football has helped him become a better all-around athlete.

“I didn’t explore the football recruiting too much because I knew I was going to play lacrosse in college,” said Bronzino, also a first-team All-Central League pick and a second-team All-Phillylacrosse.com selection. “But football does help you. It’s more physical than lacrosse but there are similar aspects in both.

“It also helps your intangibles, such as awareness, communication skills and leadership. I think it all translates over from sports to sport.”

Bronzini is also expecting his team will be successful in lacrosse. The Pioneers are one of several teams that should contend for the Central League and District 1 crowns.

“We have pretty high expectations this year,” he said. “We lost nine seniors, but we have a lot of good kids coming back. We are shooting for at least a league title, and then we’ll take it from there.”